Quarterly reports show Samsung soaring while HTC stumbles

Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, is expected to keep the company on the upswing in Q2.

Initial results are in for 2013's first financial quarter and Samsung seems likely to maintain its lead over Apple in smartphone sales. The South Korean company expects a 53 percent increase in operating profits for the first three months of the year with projected earnings of 8.7 trillion won ($7.7 billion USD/£5 billion).

The company is already predicting continued success in Q2 as well, projecting that its new Galaxy S4 with eye scrolling and a 5-inch screen will sell 22 million units between April and June.

Meanwhile, things are not looking as good for HTC. The Taiwanese company (and Samsung competitor) saw net profits drop to 85 million Taiwanese dollars ($2.85 million USD) in Q1— making this quarter HTC's worst since 2004. This sluggish performance may be attributed to delays in shipments of the company's latest smartphone, the HTC One. Much blame has been placed on the "ultrapixel" technology behind the HTC One for driving the delays, due to a camera component shortage and HTC's struggling relationships with its suppliers.

The BBC and CNET have further coverage of Samsung and HTC's earnings reports.

Comments

Tis a shame as HTC phones are just better devices than Samsung. The new One looks amazing, a really well designed and thought out bit of kit that is unashamedly a premium product. I hope it turns out well for them. Competition is good, and I hope their fortunes turn round for the better.